After months of speculation, Joel Embiid has decided to commit to playing for the United States at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, which is not being taken kindly by France’s basketball president Jean-Pierre Siutat.
Jean-Pierre Siutat recently talked to Joe Vardon of The Athletic to express his displeasure towards Joel Embiid’s decision since they believed that the Philadelphia 76ers star looked very interested in playing for Les Bleus, and they were willing to pull some strings since the process of naturalizing him was not an easy process.
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Siutat believes that by joining Team USA this summer, Joel Embiid is taking an easy way out en route to potentially winning the Olympic gold medal.
“Team USA, with him (Embiid), who can beat you? Come on, nobody,” said Siutat. “This is an easy way for him to get an Olympic medal.”
Joel Embiid had three options before fully committing to play for Team USA
Before he decided to play for the Stars and Stripes in October, Joel Embiid was also eligible to compete for Cameroon and France. The reigning NBA MVP was born in Cameroon and holds citizenship in the United States and France, so his decision boiled down to basketball fit.
Since Team USA is the favorite to win the gold because they’re expected to have a stacked roster with the likes of LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Jrue Holiday, and Devin Booker, that probably made it easier for Embiid to choose them over Les Bleus.
“I love all three options, you know, with my home country, which I love a lot. But I really want to participate in the Olympics, that’s been my goal and my dream,” said Embiid at the time via ESPN. “And you add that with the fact that my son is American, and I’ve been here for such a long time. I’m really thankful for the opportunity. France—the commitment they were willing to make—I really appreciate it. It was a tough decision.”
Not having Joel Embiid is a missed opportunity for France because it would’ve allowed them to form an ultra-rare “Three Towers” combination with Minnesota Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert and San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama.
